Once upon a time, three little goats trip, trip, tripped across a bridge. Below the bridge, a troll waited to eat them or so says the famous Norwegian folk tale, The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

Did you know that Seattle has its own troll who lives under a bridge? At eighteen-feet tall, the Fremont Troll rises up from the ground under the north end of the Aurora Bridge at N. 36th Street. The Troll weighs two tons and has entertained tourists and locals since its construction in 1990.

Where did the whole idea of trolls living beneath bridges begin? Trolls originated in Norse mythology. The creatures were said to live underground in hills, caves, or mounds. Trolls have four fingers on each hand and four toes on each foot. Trolls are only to be seen at night, or dusk, and the legends stated that if trolls did not get into the mountains before the sun rose, they cracked or turned to stone.

So how did a troll wind up under the Aurora Bridge? In 1989, the Fremont Arts Council decided they wanted something under the Fremont Bridge besides mattresses, beer cans, and rodents. They sought and obtained a grant from Seattle’s Department of Neighborhoods Matching Fund. The Fremont Arts Council’s goal was to "build a greater sense of place in the neighborhood through art, and with it a stronger community."In order to find artists who could build something under the bridge, the Arts Council held a contest for local artists to propose ideas.

Steve Badanes, a designer and builder, was teaching as a visiting professor at the University of Washington. One of his former students suggested that he enter the contest. As soon as Badanes looked at the space under the bridge he said, "I couldn’t help but think of the Billy Goats Gruff and the Troll under the bridge." Badanes returned to the University of Washington and recruited a couple of his students, Ross Whitehead and Will Martin, to help him sketch a troll. Badanes said, "We wanted to make the Troll really big. The Troll is coming out of the ground so you can imagine how big he is." They also wanted the Troll to make a statement about traffic and pollution. In an early sketch, the Troll was sitting in a car. However, in the final design, the Troll clutches a Volkswagen Bug as if the car has been swiped from the Aurora Bridge.

When it came time to select the art work, the jury was divided. They weren’t so sure that a Troll would be the best use of the space. The three semi-finalists included a giant chair, little people having lunch, and a place to put recycling. Each team was given $500 to design a model of the art work they saw under the bridge. The public would vote on the winning design. Badanes and his team of Will Martin, Ross Whitehead and Donna Walter were not selected. However, they did come in fourth place. The jury decided that if Steve and his team wanted to enter the finals, they could. But, there would be no funding for the model. Badanes and his team went ahead and created the Troll model, and the public voted in favor of the Troll with a sweeping six to one.

During construction, the public was so excited about the Troll that they came out to help build. The Troll is made out of a concrete called ferrocement which is a thin cement mixture of half cement and half sand that is used to make boats—fitting since Fremont had long been home to many boats and their sailors. Concrete footings were poured and a grid of rebar was built to rough out the large troll shape. The concrete mixture was then spread and pushed on by hand. This system made it easy for Badanes, his team, and anyone else to help sculpt the Troll. Many people don’t know that the Troll is hollow and not a solid mass.

Badanes had fun with the Troll’s details. If you look at the Troll’s left hand, you’ll see that he clutches a Volkswagen Bug. The motor-less car was donated by Black Duck Motors. At the time, many people wanted the Volkswagen to have a California license plate. It was a joke because so many people were moving to Washington from California that the price of Seattle homes was going sky-high.

The Troll’s one visible eye is made out of a Volkswagen hubcap. The eye is bolted to the concrete structure and has a shiny grid on its surface that flashes whenever it’s hit by light.

The Troll took about two months to complete and was finished around Halloween. A Trolloween celebration was held at the Troll—an event that still exists today.

Although a light shines on the Troll at night, he is often a graffiti target. Hence, a Troll Patrol was created. The Patrol is in charge of cleaning and repairing the Troll whenever it becomes damaged.

The Troll is owned by many. The Fremont Arts Council owns the sculpture, the City of Seattle owns the land, and the artists own the copyright. This means that the artists must approve requests to use the Troll in anything which would be commercial. Badanes said, "Non-profits are always given free rights to the image, and usually small businesses that want to use the Troll image for things like calendars are okay too." The artist mainly wanted a way to control the image and to keep the Troll's image from being misused.

The Troll is said to be the second most iconic figure in Washington State with the first being the Seattle Space Needle. The Troll draws a hefty number of visitors each year—including teens for prom pictures, tourists, and even actors who perform plays at the Troll’s feet. In 2005, the Troll’s street was renamed Troll Avenue. When asked about the Troll’s influence on Seattle, Badanes said, "If you build public art, people will come upon it by surprise. Instead of keeping art in a museum, where only certain types of people get to see it, public art can affect everyone."

Remember that the next time you cross the Aurora Bridge in Seattle, there's a troll underneath and he's waiting for you.

Read More About It…

Weird Washington: Your Travel Guide to Washington’s Best Kept Secrets. Jeff Davis and Al Eufrasio. New York: Sterling Publishing. 2008.

The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Paul Galdone. New York: Clarion Books, 1973.

Seattle Builds: An Oral History with the People Who Helped Shaped Seattle. Constance Sidles 6th Grade Class. Seattle: Seattle Academy of Arts and Science. 2008.